For four years it stood as an oasis of tolerance in Jerusalem: a place where drag queens, ultra-Orthodox Jews and Palestinians could hang out, dance and drink pints, side by side.

But Shushan, the city’s only gay and lesbian bar, has closed, leaving its loyal patrons with a deep sense of loss. “Shushan was one of the few places where we could feel that we were in a free world,” said Yan Carmel, 21, a Hebrew University student who is a member of a gay youth coalition.

In this conservative holy city, where a gay pride parade can bring rare unity to angry bearded religious leaders from all faiths, and the sight of men displaying affection in the street draws stares or worse, Shushan provided a haven.

Last year’s gay pride parade was redirected to a stadium when police feared that they could not protect marchers from violence; the year before, an ultra-Orthodox man stabbed three people during a street procession.

But on most nights, Shushan quietly played host to a cross-section of society: gay and straight, men and women, Orthodox and secular Jews and Palestinians.

“Shushan was an isle in Jerusalem - an isle of tolerance and coexistence,” said the co-owner, Saar Nathaniel, also a Jerusalem city councillor who frequently clashes with more conservative counterparts on matters of gay rights. “In Shushan, we were all like family. When they came out of Shushan, they would go back to their own ghetto. But in Shushan we were all together.”

The bar has fallen victim to a most prosaic issue: economics. “I really came to a point in my life where I want to do something else, and with all due respect to ideology, I need to pay rent,” Mr Nathaniel said.

Only an hour’s drive away, in Tel Aviv, gay bars, beaches and travel agencies cater for a thriving scene. Israel’s gay rights legislation is seen as progressive: gay couples who marry abroad have the right to register their marriages legally at home.

But Shushan was also the target of violence. It was seriously damaged in an arson attack two years ago, though no one was injured. The result, patrons say, was that its clientele became closer knit. Now they are struggling to find other clubs.

“I’ve met at least three boyfriends there and each time was magical,” said Gil Naveh, 24, a university student who performed in the club’s drag-queen shows. “There was the time I got proposed to outside Shushan, right in front of everyone.”

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